At June 2026, ZIP 28226's Zillow ZORI stood at $1,708 per month. It is a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, rather than a lease quote for one dwelling. Redfin's direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation is a separate for-sale universe: median sold price was $672,098, 0.43% lower than a year earlier. It recorded 175 homes sold, a median 40-day marketing time, inventory of 162 homes, and 2.8 months of supply. Its pricing signals were an average 99.74% sale-to-list ratio and a 32.38% sold-above-list share. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by the median sold price equals a 3.05% cross-source screening ratio, not a property-level rental result. The recent upward rent direction and slight resale-price decline form a tension; that split challenges a simple extension of the rent-history signal to the resale market.
Rent figures diverge because they are not observations of the same universe. In the matched Census ZCTA, ACS 2024 five-year median gross rent is $1,622, or 5.3% below the current Zillow index. That ACS figure is a survey measure for occupied renter homes, includes selected utilities, and summarizes the prior survey window; it is not a current asking-rent measure. The five-digit 28226 label is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a Census ZCTA match. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. Consequently, the difference does not establish that a currently marketed unit is priced above an occupied household's rent, or that each source covers the identical set of addresses.
The historical series makes the current rent signal less uniform than one month's level suggests. It has 100% coverage at the stated endpoint, with 111 observations and 110 consecutive month-to-month returns. Exact same-month annualized ZORI changes were 0.93% over 1 year, 1.17% over 3 years, and 4.68% over 5 years. Thus the latest direction remains positive, but it breaks from the faster five-year path and also trails the three-year pace. Annualizing the monthly returns produces 3.43% variability, so a current index deserves a range of confidence rather than a claim of precision. Separately, the 4.70% maximum drawdown records the largest historical peak-to-trough retreat and shows that the series did not advance without interruption. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs are 1,983 for momentum, 2,169 for stability, and 2,436 for the balanced measure; lower ranks are higher. These are backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
Bedroom detail is a modeling exercise rather than another observed rent dataset. The FY2026 HUD FMR/SAFMR ladder is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent; the local ladder is used only to scale the ZIP ZORI. Applying each bedroom standard relative to the local two-bedroom standard produces modelled monthly ZIP estimates of $1,490 for a studio, $1,559 for one bedroom, $1,708 for two bedrooms, $2,105 for three bedrooms, and $2,671 for four bedrooms. Those estimates preserve the local HUD ladder's relative steps around a blended asking-rent index. They are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents, and they do not verify active availability, concession terms, property type, or which utilities a specific advertisement includes.
Affordability arithmetic is more cautious than a conclusion from the area-wide income median. The matched ACS ZCTA reports median household income of $118,606. At a 30% share of income, the current index translates to $68,320 in annual required income under the screen. This simply converts an index to an income threshold; it is arithmetic, not advice and not an applicant qualification rule. The survey also reports 5,067 renter-occupied units, of which 2,540, or 50.1%, had gross-rent burdens at or above that threshold. Median income covers all households while the burden tabulation covers renters, so the two results should not be collapsed into a claim about a typical tenant. Nor does the burden share prove what any particular unit costs, whether it is vacant, or whether an individual household could meet a lease obligation.
Stock composition adds another constraint to interpreting both the asking index and the burden data. The ACS ZCTA contains 16,752 housing units, and 73.1% are single-family units; large multifamily buildings account for a smaller segment. Renter occupancy represents 32.4% of occupied homes, making its mix distinct from a market represented primarily by rental listings. The all-unit vacancy rate is 6.6%, with a portion categorized as vacant for rent. This is a count-and-status snapshot across the ZCTA's housing stock, not a measure of usable vacancies for any unit type, price tier, or lease date. A vacant-for-rent designation cannot establish an individual home's condition, effective price after concessions, or actual availability.
Broader comparisons provide orientation but must retain their named scope. At broader scope only, the Charlotte city context rent is $1,746, the Mecklenburg County context rent is $1,751, and the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro context rent is $1,750; each exceeds the ZIP asking-rent index. The ZIP's renter share is lower than both the city and county context shares, while its all-unit vacancy rate is also lower than their respective context rates. Those contrasts do not make city, county, or metro observations ZIP rental comparables. In particular, metro apartment measures describe the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro scope rather than this ZIP's listings, and county HUD standards remain administrative benchmarks rather than local asking rents.
Several checks remain before any property-specific use of this report. Match a live advertisement's quoted rent, bedroom count, dwelling type, lease length, move-in date, concessions, and included utilities to the actual offering, rather than to the blended ZORI or the modelled ladder. Confirm whether the address falls in the applicable delivery ZIP and compare that status with the ZCTA's statistical boundary. For a resale record, verify sale date, list history, property type, and the consistency of the sold homes with the asset being examined; Redfin's ZIP series supplies no rental transactions. ACS sampling, source reference periods, and changing composition limit cross-source inference. The unresolved property-level question is whether the documented offering and sale context match the aggregate measures closely enough to support a tailored analysis?
","findings":[{"body":"The ZIP asking-rent index increased over the latest same-month year, while the direct ZIP resale median declined slightly. Resale activity still included completed transactions, limited reported months of supply, and near-list pricing signals, so neither source supplies a one-direction reading. The annualized asking-rent-to-sale-price calculation is useful only for cross-source screening and omits unit mix, operating terms, and property-level conditions.","title":"Rent and resale signals diverge"},{"body":"The bedroom series scales the blended ZIP asking-rent index through the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD is an administrative standard, not an asking-rent survey, so the resulting studio-through-four-bedroom figures are modelled estimates rather than measured rents. They can describe the ladder's relative shape but cannot confirm the price, availability, utilities, concessions, or condition of an advertised unit.","title":"Bedroom rents are modelled allocations"},{"body":"The required-income screen converts the current asking-rent index into an annual income threshold using a fixed share of income. It is not an underwriting rule or statement about any applicant. ACS burden data instead describe surveyed occupied renter households, while the area income median includes all households. Their contrast is informative at an aggregate level but cannot determine affordability for a particular tenant or lease.","title":"Income arithmetic and renter burden answer different questions"},{"body":"The matched ZCTA has a predominantly single-family housing stock, a smaller renter share than wider city and county contexts, and a reported vacancy rate across all housing units. Those measures describe aggregate housing status rather than current leasing inventory. A vacancy category cannot establish that a specific unit is market-ready, competitively priced, habitable, or available on the date a renter is searching.","title":"ZCTA stock composition limits listing-level inference"}],"risks":["The asking-rent index, ACS gross-rent survey, HUD standard, and Redfin resale record use different populations, timing, and concepts; treating their differences as direct rent comparables can misstate the ZIP picture.","The completed rent history is backward-looking. A positive recent same-month change, measurable monthly variation, and a past drawdown do not establish persistence, timing, or future rent movement.","Aggregate income and burden statistics cannot identify a specific renter's income, lease terms, utilities, or housing costs. Vacancy classifications likewise do not confirm availability, habitability, or price for a particular listing.","Bedroom figures are modeling outputs using HUD relative standards, while resale figures reflect a rolling sold-home mix. Unit type, condition, concessions, location within the ZIP, and sales composition remain unresolved."],"qa":[{"a":"Zillow ZORI summarizes typical observed asking rents blended across rental types at the ZIP market level. ACS median gross rent summarizes occupied renter homes across a five-year survey period and includes selected utilities. The matched ZCTA is a statistical area, not identical to USPS delivery geography, so timing, addresses, and rent concepts differ.","q":"Why does the ACS gross-rent figure differ from the Zillow asking-rent index?"},{"a":"No. The bedroom figures are modelled estimates derived by scaling the ZIP's blended Zillow asking-rent index with the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR or SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard rather than asking rent. The estimates do not establish current listings, concessions, utilities, lease terms, or unit-level availability.","q":"Are the bedroom estimates measured rents for available units?"},{"a":"The rent history measures prior same-month index movement, variation, and drawdown, while Redfin reports a direct rolling-three-month ZIP for-sale observation. The recent rent increase and slight resale-price decline create a useful tension, but the sources observe different markets. Completed sales and sale-to-list signals describe resale liquidity, not rental transactions or property economics.","q":"How should the historical rent and direct resale evidence be read together?"},{"a":"Confirm the actual quoted rent, included utilities, bedroom configuration, unit type, lease term, concessions, availability date, and delivery ZIP for the specific offering. For a resale comparison, confirm the sold home's type, sale date, list history, and condition. These checks test whether the aggregate measures are relevant without turning them into proof about a specific unit.","q":"What property-level checks remain necessary?"}],"sources":[{"key":"apartment_list_time_on_market","name":"Apartment List Time on Market — listing liquidity","release":"Apartment List 2026-07","pulledAt":"2026-08-08","url":"https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/category/data-rent-estimates"},{"key":"apartment_list_vacancy","name":"Apartment List Vacancy Index — rental vacancy","release":"Apartment List 2026-07","pulledAt":"2026-08-08","url":"https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/apartment-list-vacancy-index-methodology"},{"key":"census_zcta_facts","name":"Census ACS five-year — ZCTA housing and income","release":"ACS 2024 5-year ZCTA","pulledAt":"2026-08-08","url":"https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs5.html"},{"key":"hud_zip","name":"HUD USPS crosswalk and Small Area FMRs — ZIP rent fallback","release":"ZIP-CBSA 2025Q4 + SAFMR 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